Spanish Football Federation row with La Liga delays season kick-off
- Sports
- DPA
- Published Date: 09:13 | 10 September 2020
- Modified Date: 09:13 | 10 September 2020
The opening fixture of the 2020-21 season in Spain has been put back 24-hours because of a dispute between La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
La Liga confirmed late Wednesday that the match between Granada and Athletic Bilbao will be played on Saturday instead of Friday because of RFEF's insistence that games should not be played on a Friday.
RFEF has a long-standing opposition to games being played on Friday or Monday nights because of the potential affects on attendances.
That was not a valid concern during the post-lockdown conclusion to last season, with games being played behind closed doors, and fixtures were therefore allowed on Friday and Mondays.
But RFEF believe that no longer applies even though fans are not yet allowed back in stadiums.
La Liga issued a statement confirming the Granada v Athletic Bilbao fixture will be played on Saturday, 24 hours later. And stating its intention to attempt to get RFEF to allow matches on a Friday in the second round of fixtures.